


Sins of the Heart

by Srarticuno



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Incubus Niles, M/M, borrows lore from The Witcher but not enough to warrant a fandom tag, may include dubious consent, there will be a lot of intense scenes considering Niles' species but there will not be a rape scene, trust me you do not have to know anything about The Witcher to read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 10:28:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11484483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srarticuno/pseuds/Srarticuno
Summary: Long ago, Nohr once belonged to the monsters that inhabited its woods. The mystery of Castle Krakenburg's creation was buried in the sands of time, and both humans and monsters have their own retelling of that fateful day. All that remains is the cold stone towering to the heavens, and the animosity between monsters and humans that grows even colder.Orphaned since he can remember, Niles drifts between beds to keep himself alive. More than two centuries past his birth, he discovers something that will change his fate... and land him in bed with the hottest blond he's ever met. However, he'll quickly learn that slipping in bed with a prince comes with some serious strings, and an entire legacy on the road ahead.





	Sins of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I need to take a moment to warn all of my readers that this story is likely going to be very intense. As a whole, it was mainly an excuse for me to write Niles as an incubus, which in itself comes with a lot of warnings. Then I thought of adding lore, and chose to borrow from The Witcher, a game that is very, very intense in both violence and sexual content. As such, some of you may not be able to handle the content within. As an incubus, Niles will be considering committing acts of rape, as well as showing some flawed concepts of consent for the first few chapters. However, I will not be writing out any rape scenes in this fic. Dubious consent, perhaps, but not full-blown rape.
> 
> Also, I did not put this in The Witcher fandom, because I only borrow from their beastiary. Trust me, even if you aren't familiar with the game, I'll do my best to cover all of the necessary information. I just decided to borrow from The Witcher because it includes incubi/succubi and has my favorite lore. Most if not all of the characters will be from Fire Emblem. And, as a final note, I will be twisting the lore just the tiniest bit to fit the setting. Now that you have been given fair warning, enter if you dare.

Deep in the darkest woods of Windmire, an ebony castle cradles a royal family, hiding the princes and princesses of Nohr from the dangers of the outside world. Long has Castle Krakenburg stood on those ancient, holy grounds, a single spot where magic is abundant in the desolate plains of Nohr. Legend has it that the king’s ancestors once took the woods by storm, slaying the King of Beasts and claiming the land for themselves. Perhaps that was the beginning of the everlasting power struggle between man and monster. The animosity between them claimed lives of countless innocents, taken by men that believed all monsters to be heartless and cruel, or monsters who felt allegiance to none and anger for the wrongs man had committed against them. So the cycle continues, fear and hate brewing in a deadly whirl, leading to many a war.

 

Humans hate monsters; monsters hate humans. No matter the reason, Niles has known this to be true for his entire immortal life. As such, he never felt remorse for feeding off his sworn enemies. Humans often compared him to a bug, and though he balked at first, he couldn’t help but agree. He’s a parasite. He comes in through windows and unlocked doors, casting his spell on some clueless victim to worm his way into their minds. Niles has bedded countless humans, stealing the magical essence from their bodies, manipulating them into giving him food and shelter. Ever since his mother abandoned him, that was how he took care of himself: one bed at a time.

 

Though there were plenty of things that made humans intolerable, Niles always found himself thankful for how incredibly _stupid_ they were. He could walk amongst them by casting a simple spell, and none of them would notice the horn-shaped illusions curled around the sides of his face. It made him wonder how _this_ species had outcast his people, stolen their land and made them out to be the villains. From the countless times Niles had stolen from and bewitched them, he had grown to resent how incredibly spoiled they were. They kept their blessings to themselves and admonished those who needed mercy. It bewildered him, how self-absorbed an entire species could be. It _enraged_ him. Every night, he would act out his frustration, inflicting as much pain as the pleasure he gave on whatever poor soul fell into his grasp.

 

Yet, he liked to think that he had _some_ mercy. Niles made it his personal policy not to defile a human already suffering at the hands of another. He could easily spot the darkness in a man’s heart as it reached towards him like a heavy mist. Those humans with hearts of pure evil received no kindness, beyond the initial seduction. They only reap what they sow.

 

Virgins received mercy from him as well, though for a different reason. Niles never cared for superstition as it pertained to purity, but he had learned over the years that virgins were highly susceptible to brainwashing. Those that have no prior experience with sex would easily become addicted to an incubus’ touch, and the way that they clung and drooled all over him was beyond uncomfortable. That, and Niles had never been one for pets.

 

Still, Niles would never claim to be perfect, and he has often fought with the darkest of thoughts. For countless years, it was his own personal fantasy to slip into the palace and defile the king. Even a prince or princess would do. He detested their history, how the descendants of the ones who robbed his people of everything they had could live so comfortably. _Their own kind_ suffer, and yet they never set foot outside of their picture-perfect palace. It’s absolutely revolting. If he could only show them a little piece of the suffering outside those walls, he feels he could die in peace.

 

When King Garon rises to power, Niles thinks he could finally have his chance to act out more than two hundred years of suffering. Something changed in the middle of Garon’s reign, and the barrier meant to keep monsters out of the castle weakened on the south side. Niles could easily break in without being noticed. It took a fair bit of energy to do it, but he had no qualms with making a sacrifice or two for his revenge against humanity.

 

Every other night, he sneaks his way through the gates, carefully searching for his prey. The method is difficult, and harder still to conceal, but Niles is both stubborn and wise. Instead of trying to break a hole in it and leave a trail of shattered magic, the incubus casts a little earth spell and raises the soil to create an archway. Normally, the barrier is too heavy and inflexible to be lifted this way. Had Niles not stopped by to witness a beheading, he would never have noticed. Fitting, really, that Nohr’s corruption would lead to its own demise.

 

Once inside, Niles slips beneath an illusion, masked behind a vision of heavy armor. Imitating the clumsy gait of a knight is difficult. Incubi and succubi alike spend many years perfecting their impersonations for situations like these, as even a common man will notice something about a heavily armored knight out for a brisk jog. Stranger still if they caught him climbing the castle walls like this. He doesn’t dare scale to the roof until he knows the lay of the land, anyway.

 

It takes many tries and plenty of patience to finally set his eyes on his prize. About two weeks after Niles began scouting the castle grounds, he spots a lovely, purple-haired princess through a window set high in the stone wall. It’s more than he could have asked for. Gods above, she has tits big enough to satisfy him for a _year_ with just one touch. As he watches her brush the lavender locks cascading down to the middle of her back, Niles’ fantasies run wild, previously ambiguous visions taking proper form with the voluptuous woman he sees before him. Perhaps when he’s through with her, he’ll snap her neck. And then he’ll move on to the next spoiled cur, then the next, until the castle halls are empty and free to be reclaimed by his kind. He’ll kill them all. It doesn’t matter if he dies trying. This will be the only useful thing he’s ever done with his pathetic life.

 

Caution is still a priority, even as he sneaks his way across the shadows of the rooftops. Niles can scale walls effortlessly thanks to his magic, and his tail allows him to secure himself on the gargoyles lining the edges of the castle walls. He knows the rotation of the guards by heart now, but they could never see through his spells anyway. They never did. All he had to do was climb up to the princess’ window and take her.

 

Yet, as easy as it seems, he cannot forgo his precautions. Just a little spell, to see if it’ll take. Niles presses his finger against the glass and waits for her reaction. A minor arousal spell, just to catch her off guard, to make her pause or flinch. His seductive powers are greatly reduced when used on someone that isn’t attracted to men, so it’s important to test how well they work, even when he’s all but ready to pounce. Just so that he can see a twitch, or to hear her gasp in confusion… and…

 

…The spell isn’t working.

 

_What?_ Damn it all! He’s _this_ close, and the princess he finds is a _lesbian?!_ Gods, _now_ what? He supposes he could just barge in and snap her neck anyway. Niles isn’t picky. As long as the king suffers and one of his brats dies, he’ll consider it a job well done. Now comes the question of how to kill this bitch, not just for his revenge, but to make up for her ruining his plans.

 

He’ll have to watch her a bit more closely. She’s moved onto something else, pulled something out from behind her desk. Another girl is there, but she seems much less important, sporting a bandana instead of a crown. They’re talking, he thinks. After a moment, Niles can tell that the object is a sword. That’s… surprising. What is a princess doing, cleaning and sharpening a sword like it belongs to her?

 

…Wait. What if it _does?_

 

This is a bad sign. If the sword is made of silver, Niles is in trouble. If she pulls out a second sword, then he’s _really_ in trouble. He only knows of one kind of human that carries two swords wherever they go. Could it be that the ancient trials of the witcher were still being practiced within this castle, as the rumors say? They should have been lost long ago…

 

Curiosity has hold of him, and despite the possible dangers, Niles continues to stare on from behind a magic veil. Female witchers are unheard of. He’d be more likely to meet one that was an elven male. But what if she is? If the rumors are true and King Garon is raising witchers, what can he do? These people are forced into hardships beyond the limits of the human body, and perhaps even a monster’s. One witcher alone is powerful enough to slay even a dragon. Arm them with the endless supplies that royalty can buy, and… Well, the result won’t exactly be pretty for Niles.

 

As the princess sets her sword back down, she turns her head, and that’s when Niles sees it. Just long enough for him to notice but not be noticed in turn, he sees the gold of her eyes and the cat-like slit in them. It’s true. She _is_ a witcher. Niles knows them well, and has carried resentment in his heart for the last time he laid with one of her kind. Laying with one again would be beyond foolhardy. They are cold and calculating, as if the trials had turned them into beasts more soulless than what they hunt. Without his ability to seduce her, Niles may as well jump straight off the castle walls. He’d probably have a better chance at surviving _that._

 

Just thinking about the possibility of having the tables turned on him by a witcher makes Niles reconsider his entire plan. He curses to himself as he makes his retreat, donning the illusion of a cape as he quietly slips off the rooftop, down the walls and back through the gates. Not tonight, then. Perhaps not tomorrow night, either. He has to consider this.

 

More importantly, this raises many questions and fears. Is King Garon raising an _army_ of witchers? Niles had heard of incredible amounts of infidelity in the royal palace, and how the king had sired many heirs that died off like flies. Once, he had thought it the result of the cruelty and greed of nobles, but now his entire perspective has shifted. Dying during the trials of the witcher is beyond common. If hunting monsters didn’t kill them, being pumped full of the mutating serum often did.

 

Creating an army of witchers… Niles wouldn’t put something so awful beyond King Garon. Of all Nohr’s kings he’s lived through, Niles finds him to be the most cruel and horrible of the lot. That would make it likely for Garon to try to raze the forest with his witcher spawn, clearing it of all traces of monsters. Niles’ revenge suddenly takes a different tone. Perhaps he’s imagining all this, perhaps he’s trying to rationalize his own hatred, but… If he’s right, he has to act quickly. And if he’s wrong? Royal brats will still die, and he’ll _still_ be happy.

 

That’s the motivation he uses to convince himself to infiltrate the castle again, about a week after his last attempt. Up goes the earthen archway, and he carefully slips beneath it. There must be a young witcher in training in that castle. He needs to find that child, and kill it. _All_ of them. Then the king, if he can. This madness must end. The age of the witcher came to a close long ago, and for good reason.

 

Knowing that at least one witcher lives in the castle makes it much more nerve-wracking to navigate. Instead of the awkward set of armor that humans need to protect their thin skin, Niles chooses to imitate a simple archer. Light clothing with a hooded cape suits him much better.

 

He’s so focused on mapping out a path in his head that he almost doesn’t hear the gentle hiss. For a moment, he wonders if he crossed paths with a snake, until realization dawns on him and instinct takes over. _Bomb._ Niles dives for cover, hands protecting the back of his head from any stray shrapnel launched by the loud pop of the explosive. This was _not_ part of the plan, and it complicates things _much_ further. For one, he’s been found out. The trap wasn’t here the last time Niles passed by, so it was definitely laid down after he started infiltrating the palace. Secondly, the trap has been triggered, meaning that the witcher’s suspicion will be confirmed. More traps will surely come.

 

Cursing softly, Niles pushes himself to his feet. A shard of shrapnel glistens not far from his feet, multicolored and brilliant even in the moonlight. Dimeritium, if he were to guess. The incubus is lucky he wasn’t hit by the magic-numbing ore. He’s been hit with it before. Not an experience he’d like to relive.

 

It _has_ to be tonight. Security will increase when the remains of the dimeritium bomb are found, and more soldiers are likely to rush to his position at this very moment. Niles is trapped here, like a weary traveler caught in a collapsed cavern. The only way out is through, and there may not even be a way through… Perhaps it was destined to be this way. Niles can finally rest after centuries of suffering and despair. When he thinks about it that way, facing a witcher doesn’t sound so bad.

 

There’s a wall just around the western corner that’s largely unguarded. Niles takes interest in it because there’s a large tower not far from that spot. Considering it doesn’t look too different from where he found his witcher princess, maybe this could carry something else of interest. Up he goes, fingers and toes digging carefully into the little cracks in the wall. As cunning as he is, he’d be as good as dead if it weren’t for his spells. In the light, his dark skin and horns give him away. In the dark, as it is now, his white hair glints in the moonlight, along with the birthmarks draped across his body. An incubus is born with white lines drawn onto his skin, rings that frame certain areas and surround each other like an archery target. Some of the rings cut off just before they overlap, but they all serve the same purpose; to leech magical energy from other creatures. If anyone saw him with these markings, they’d know exactly what he was and what he was doing. Needless to say, magic has saved his hide more than a few times.

 

As he nears the windows atop the tower, Niles clings to the wall to catch his breath. He searched more than half the length of the tower, and he has yet to find heads or tails of the royalty. Perhaps he should just skip ahead to the top. He’s running out of energy he can use with enough left to safely cast his seduction spell. But skipping ahead means that he’ll lose his place amongst the windows. Maybe if he stays put and rests a bit, he can…

 

 “Prince Leo, your father has requested your presence.”

 

_Prince._ Niles perks at the title, sadistic glee flowing through his veins. That voice is coming from the window up one row and to his right. As he creeps over to it, he’s sure to find his unsuspecting brat inside.

 

Leo is everything Niles loves in a man. Stern, gorgeous, and well-read, if the book he refuses to set down has anything to say about his personality. That perfectly golden head of hair reminds him of the full moon. Oh yes, he will most certainly enjoy defiling Prince Leo. But… Maybe he shouldn’t end his life. What a waste of such an incredible specimen… No, perhaps he’ll go back on his policy about keeping pets. After all, he can hold this one hostage to be used as a playing piece later. There’s a dark shade in his eye that is decidedly _not_ gold, excluding him from being a witcher. King Garon would be willing to barter for this one, right? After all, normal humans can’t be expected to fend off magic alone. It would be no one’s fault but the guards’.

 

When the human sighs and stands to leave, Niles carefully sticks his head in the window. His chance will come later, when the little prince returns and lets down his guard. He can imagine it now, the shock of seeing a stranger in his bed quickly melting into arousal and helplessness… Just thinking about it is turning Niles on.

 

Ah, but wait. He has to test his magic. Wouldn’t want another situation like the princess. If Prince Leo isn’t attracted to men, Niles doesn’t know what he’ll do. Snapping such a pretty neck would be an awful shame. Hopefully, the human will respond to his spell. Niles flicks his finger in Leo’s direction, enchanting a hot flash of arousal to run down his spine.

 

Leo shivers. Oh, _yes._

 

The prince stops in his tracks, obviously concerned about the sudden and strange feeling. Niles quickly ducks away, hiding from view. He holds his breath as he waits for some kind of signal that he’s in no danger of being spotted. A moment later, the window closes. Niles exhales as softly as he can. So, Leo suspected him. This may not be an easy lay.

 

Slowly, Niles peeks back up to the window pane. On the other side, he can see that the door to the room is shut, and everything inside seems empty. Time to get to work. He casts a quick little spell to turn the lock, and the window unlatches effortlessly. In he goes, closing it back up behind him to keep suspicion as low as possible. Now that he’s inside, he can fully admire the bedroom. It’s as luxurious and lavish as he would expect of a Nohrian prince. Details are intricately woven into every piece of furniture. None of it is so surprising as the towering shelves of books. Somehow, it almost seems as if Leo had run out of places to shove another shelf into. Any desk or table is covered with books, notes, and… potions. That’s what they must be, because Niles can smell the virginity still clinging to the prince, so it obviously couldn’t be lube. (Only an incubus would look at a potion bottle and wonder if it’s lube.)

 

Niles slips a finger over one of the shelves, then rubs the finger against his thumb. Not a speck of dust. He wonders if Prince Leo is the neat freak, or if the entire castle is kept this way. Luxury is foreign to most of his kind. Monsters live in caves, under rocks and trees, in the water and on the highest mountaintops. Houses took a long time to grow accustomed to, and Niles is still adjusting a little. In his defense, he’s never hitched a ride in a castle before. Every part of the room was obviously crafted with the utmost care. A shame, really, that it all went to waste on human brats.

 

If he admires the room for too long, the prince will return and he’ll lose the upper hand. Niles stokes the hearth with a snap of his fingers and settles onto the prince’s bed, and oh, it is the most _comfortable_ thing he has ever laid on. He’s spoiling himself tonight, really. Revenge served on the most heavenly mattress he’s ever laid upon… It’s an incubus’ dream come true.

 

As he awaits his prey, Niles removes the ragged cloth he hides his genitals behind, replaces it with the edge of the blanket, and cloaks himself beneath an illusion. He always has to hide his true appearance, though he likes to touch up his face a bit, too. Even a witcher in training might be shocked to his senses at the sight of a monster laying in his bed, so a human form is his best chance. As long as the spell works quickly, he should have nothing to worry about.

 

Niles is about to get up and peek down the hall when he hears the door click open. Wise men say that, when an event happens that changes the course of history, those attuned to magic can feel the threads of fate snapping and tying together. That could explain the tension Niles feels, the freezing in his veins and the intense thud in his heart. He’s done this countless times before. The only difference this time is that the man walking into the bedroom is a prince.

 

As planned, Leo only has a split second of shock before Niles’ spell is upon him. Lust clouds his vision, darkens his cheeks and moves his feet to the beckoning of the incubus’ fingers. Capturing him was _beyond_ satisfying. Seeing the king’s precious son, trembling with desire, wandering towards him like a moth to a flame, or a helpless child… It’s enough to fill his fantasies for years.

 

“Welcome back, Prince Leo,” Niles coos. “It’s been so lonely without you here… I’ve missed you.” Making the situation akin to a dream or a fantasy helps keep his victim under control. If they think they’re safe, they don’t struggle. Leo is taking the bait perfectly, showing no resistance as he crawls onto the bed and straddles Niles’s hips. He can feel the prince’s arousal through his pants, and Niles rewards him with a sweet moan for the contact. Gods… What a perfect creature. He’s so enamored by how gorgeous Prince Leo is, which is a serious compliment coming from an incubus with high standards and a long list of conquests. The way his hair frames his face, the shape of his lips, and oh, those sweet little gasps he makes when Niles grinds his hips upwards… For a moment, he forgets his revenge. He forgets that this is his enemy, the spawn of those who banished him into the most forlorn parts of the woods, and allows himself to be enraptured by the prince’s touch. Niles kisses his neck and leeches at his essence, feeling pure pleasure as Leo arches his back with a soft cry. Their arms are locked around one another, sliding over skin and beneath clothing, pulling each other closer in some twisted illusion of consummate love…

 

And it all goes to hell.

 

Niles barely has time to yelp out a scream before he feels burning pressure against his throat. Blinded by the pain, he flails until he can grip at the hand strangling him… Hand? Dear Gods, Leo cut himself loose. How did this happen? What is he _doing to him?_ This isn’t something any witcher is capable of!

 

Unless Leo wasn’t trained to be a witcher at all. Unless this is real, true, high-level magic. Unless… Leo was raised as a _sorcerer,_ not a witcher.

 

Niles curses himself for not considering all of the possibilities, but he has no time to lament. Leo is branding something against his throat, something that makes him feel absolutely powerless. The incubus hisses, animalistic and wild, as his nails swipe through the air and seek any purchase they can find. Victory is short-lived, as after Niles hears the gasp of pain from the prince mounted on his hips, he feels fingers wrap around both his wrists and pin them to the head of the bed. Niles should be winning. He should at least be throwing this feeble brat off his hips, because he can feel no true strength in his fingers. A human should be easy to overpower, and yet Niles is as drained as one of his victims.

 

As if to torment him further, Niles can feel his illusion fading. Panic sets in at full force, and he turns his head to the side to hide his right eye. He needs to get _out._ The spade at the tip of his tail flicks against Leo’s back like a paddle, but it does little to help. The human has him heavily outmatched, and he makes this clear by calling upon a spell. Vines curl around the offending tail, Niles’ ankles, even his wrists. Leo has him perfectly helpless.

 

“Let me go!” Niles shouts, still thrashing despite how hopelessly bound he is. “Get… off!”

 

Leo is panting from both his arousal and the exertion of their power struggle, but his brows are drawn in confusion. Has he never seen an incubus before? Probably not, considering his innocence. “You come into my room,” he begins, slow enough so that he can keep his voice even, “seduce me, try to take my magic… and you have the _nerve_ to demand that _I_ let you go?”

 

“Like I need to explain myself to a human,” Niles spits. The vines squeeze just hard and long enough to make him yelp.

 

“How curious,” the prince hums. “Very well. If you won’t explain yourself, I’m certain I can find a use for you…”

 

Niles is filled with new panic, bucking his hips as his last effort to escape. If Leo has even a fraction of a witcher’s knowledge, then what comes next will be gruesome. Try as he might to cast even the smallest of spells, his magic won’t respond to him. That must be the mark on his neck, some kind of seal on him to keep his powers at bay. There is no escaping now. Leo has already won.

 

The prince takes an interest in Niles’ face, and puts a hand on his cheek to turn his head. That’s all he can take. He tries to bite Leo’s hand in his desperation, but it only urges the prince to grab his horn instead. Niles is forced to stare at his prey-turned-captor, and the fear and dread pools into an overbearing misery that breaks what little is left of him to be shattered. “Don’t look at me!” he shouts. He’s turning his head as much as he can, trying to hide his eye. Or rather, to hide the scars on his eyelid where the soft organ inside had been removed. “Don’t! Stop! _Please!_ ”

 

“Why? Is this why you want me to let you go?” Leo mumbles. It’s possibly the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to Niles, running his thumb along his cheek like he actually _cares._

 

“Just- Just let me cover it!” Niles croaks. “Please! Just give me enough power to put it away! I don’t… I can’t…!”

 

The greatest shock of all is that Leo actually complies. Niles is too overwhelmed to really think about it, focusing only on his illusion. A fake eye slowly blinks into existence in the socket, and though he has no energy to waste on seeing out of it, he instantly feels relief. Now that his panic is eased, he has time to wonder about his fate. Leo… showed him mercy. For what reason, self-interest or pity? Perhaps a bit of both? One thing had become painfully clear during their struggle; Niles could never make the mistake of thinking he could predict Leo ever again.

 

He’s reminded of it not a moment later when Leo’s thumb moves right below his eye, wiping away tears that Niles hadn’t realized he’d shed. “Someone hurt you,” he mumbles.

 

“What do you care?” Niles hisses, suddenly unable to meet Leo’s gaze. He’s gone mostly still now, wary even in his broken state, but unable to fight back. It would only prolong his end.

 

“If I let you go,” Leo starts, words careful and slow, “will you run away?”

 

“And never return,” Niles promises.

 

The prince clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “You won’t make it outside the castle walls. My siblings already know you’re here.”

 

“Then so be it,” Niles snaps. “I’ve suffered enough in this damned life of mine, and you choose to make me suffer even more. Just kill me. That’d make you happy, right? Getting rid of something that goes bump in the night so you can get your beauty rest?”

 

Leo actually seems troubled by this, and Niles wishes he had his powers back only so that he could see inside the prince’s head. The hands pinning Niles down slowly pull away, and Leo swings his leg away so that he can slide off the bed. Niles doesn’t have to wonder for long what he’s doing. “I’m not going to kill you,” he answers. “My siblings may try, but I won’t. Here…” From a drawer, he pulls out a pair of shackles made of dimeritium ore, ignoring Niles’ struggles as he slips them onto the incubus’ wrists. “Your skill with magic is admirable. If I can learn something from you… I will allow you to live in the palace.”

 

_What._

 

“You…” Niles doesn’t even have an insult for this. “What makes you think I’ll agree to this?”

 

“And what made _you_ think _I’d_ agree to sex?” Leo raises a perfectly manicured brow, almost as if daring Niles. “I don’t expect you to cooperate. Observing you will be enough.”

 

“So, you want me to be your dog,” Niles surmises. The vines slip from around his body, but the shackles around his wrists are so much more binding.

 

“See it however you like,” Leo shrugs. “If you didn’t want me to retaliate, you shouldn’t have intruded. Keeping you alive like this is a blessing, compared to what my siblings would do to you.”

 

“Great,” Niles growls. “I’ll be sure to thank you every day for letting me collect dust in the corner.”

 

Leo doesn’t dignify that with a response, instead choosing something he’s far more interested in. “What’s your name?” he asks. “And, how did you know mine?”

 

“Not telling,” Niles spits. He feels the mark on his throat burn with the narrow of Leo’s eyes. “Gah- All right, all right, stop!” When he finally feels like he can breathe again, Niles heaves out a sigh. “I heard your name as I was stalking the palace. That’s all I’m saying.”

 

“Well, I suppose I should have expected no less,” Leo sighs. “You know my name. Why is it such a bother for me to learn yours? I hardly expect anyone to enjoy being addressed by their race.”

 

“You’re a mage, aren’t you?” Niles asks. “You should know better than most. Names have power.”

 

The prince seems to think this over for a while. It hits him how awkward their situation is, a fully clothed and disheveled noble rubbing his chin as he stares at a half-naked incubus, cuffed up with dimeritium. Not quite the position either of them expected to be in that night. “Then, if you won’t trust me with your name, perhaps you would trust me with an alias?”

 

That’s… weird. Prince Leo wants his trust? What is his game? Is he planning to weasel his true name out of him later? Well, no matter. Niles can easily play along. And if he plays well enough, maybe he can steal a key to freedom. “Zero,” Niles says. “That’s the name I tell to every other human.”

 

Damn. Why didn’t he lead off by telling Leo that Zero is his name? The excitement must have gotten to his head. What a bad time to not have an advantage.

 

“Zero,” Leo repeats, as if testing the way it feels. “All right. Can you stay here while I fetch something for you? It’ll only be a moment.”

 

Again, they’re caught in a momentary power struggle, though more subdued than the last. Niles waits for the door to click shut before he starts rifling through drawers with his bound hands. A key is sure to be in there somewhere. When he reaches for the third drawer, a vine springs forth from nowhere and curls around the links between the cuffs. Leo has outsmarted him yet again. He must have peeked back in after he shut the door. _Damn_ it. The vine pulls him to the bedpost, and Niles has no choice but to walk over and sit on the edge. He pointedly avoids looking at the door, because he can already see Leo’s smug smirk in his mind’s eye.

 

When Leo returns, a maid is helping him carry some bedding through the door. He doesn’t let her come in far enough to see his guest, thanking and dismissing her once it’s all made it through the threshold. With a sigh, he releases the vine from around Niles’ shackles and beckons him over. “Here. Help me set this up.”

 

“What… exactly is this?” Niles asks. There’s a blanket, a pillow, and some larger, fancier pillow big enough for a human to lay on, maybe two.

 

“I wasn’t exactly sure what your sleeping preferences are,” Leo admits. “We don’t have any spare mattresses right now, so this will have to do. Though, I can request one later, if you’d like.”

 

“I see,” Niles replies, voice deadpan. “You’re setting up the doghouse.”

 

“Would you rather my sister cut off your horns and kill you with them?” Leo rolls his eyes. “Quit complaining. There are worse fates than being given a spot to sleep in a castle.”

 

“Fine,” Niles snaps, because he’s too tired to continue this banter any longer. He awkwardly grabs the blanket and drags it to the corner of the room farthest from Leo and his bed, angrily tossing it around his shoulders as he curls beneath it like a cat. An exasperated sigh sounds from behind him, and Niles can hear the soft puffs of pillow slapping against stone floor just behind his head. That’s how they spend their first night together, laying sleepless on opposite ends of the room, tired and confused and both wondering what the hell they just did, as well as what they’ll do now that this arrangement has come to pass.

 

“Good night, Zero,” Leo calls.

 

“Suck a dick, Prince Leo,” Niles answers.


End file.
